Eye on Faith

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Ramadan: 'Midnight Sun' fasting

Midnight Sun in Kiruna (Photo by Helleborus)

It’s tough enough fasting from sunup to sundown, but what if sundown barely arrives?

Now that many Muslims have migrated to “Lands of the Midnight Sun,” it’s becoming

harder and harder to make it through the long sunlit Ramadan days.

In St. Petersburg, for example, daylight can last as long as 21 hours. In Stockholm, the sun sometimes sets at 1 a.m. and rises at 3:30 a.m.

Andrew Martin of The Washington Post reports that Muslim scholars differ in their

rulings about how Ramadan fasting should occur in such regions.

Some “adhere to the sunrise and sunset hours of nearby, more southern cities.” Others “prefer to keep to the long hours of their locale.”

Fasting under those latter conditions can be quite strenuous. One adherent, from Kiruna in Sweden “where the sun never sets,” stated: I looked at the clock many times.

Resources

http://wwrn.org/articles/44686/?&place=canada

Saturday, August 8, 2015

Sister Megan Rice: Sounds of silence and speech

Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant (Public Domain)

Sister Megan Rice knows whereof she speaks, and whereof she has been silent.

In an article for The Times Union, she writes that her silence concerning nuclear arms lasted for many years. While growing up next door to a member of the Manhattan Project, Rice had experienced the secrecy shrouding this endeavor firsthand.

Shortly after the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Rice’s Uncle Walter arrived there. As a 1^st lieutenant in the Marines, he too remained silent about the atrocities he had witnessed.

Back around 1980, Rice began voicing her opposition to such destruction. She subsequently participated in non-violent protests in New York City, Nevada and Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

At age 82, her Oak Ridge involvement (splashing “blood on a uranium facility” there) yielded her two years in prison. Nevertheless, she is still speaking out.

Rice can be heard at the upcoming 17^th Annual Kateri Peace Conference at Fonda, New York on Friday and Saturday, August 14^thand 15^th.

Resources

http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Time-for-silence-speaking-6431983.php

Friday, August 7, 2015

British anti-Semitism on the rise

Jewish Refugees in 1951 (Public Domain)

As compared with statistics from 2014, the incidences of British anti-Semitism have risen 53 percent thus far in 2015.

Some underlying causes within both the United Kingdom and Europe as a whole include the following: “anger at Israeli policy in the Middle East… social tensions over immigration… increasing economic hardship under austerity policies…”

Many British Jews are therefore considering a permanent move. They fear that there is no longer a “future in Europe.”

The British government is now promising “to act against anti-Semitism.” Police patrols have been increased “at synagogues and other Jewish venues.”

Resources

http://wwrn.org/articles/44836/?place=uk-ireland

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Taylor Swift: Morality trumps fame

Swift in 2009 (Photo by Angela George)

Taylor Swift certainly seems to have it all. Nevertheless, she insists upon morality as a vital companion to fame and fortune.

In fact, Swift has stated: I judge people based on their moral code; I think someone is nothing without a moral code. She then went on to explain that morality trumps talent, wealth and popularity.

Swift belongs to a "sisterhood" that she cherishes. This “inner circle” of females even includes those who have dated the same men. Swift says, “…just because you have the same taste in men, we don’t hold that against each other.”

What Swift does hold against others is a sense of betrayal. She firmly vows to shun those who will talk her down and try to humiliate her.

Being human, Swift has made her share of mistakes. However, she tends not to repeat the same ones, especially with regard to friendship and romance.

She is particularly on guard against a tendency of companions to try and change her. She concludes: That can be the most painful thing, trying to love someone who is critical in their nature.

Resources

http://www.msn.com/en-us/music/celebrity/taylor-swift-gets-personal-about-friends-and-romances-i-dont-make-the-same-mistake-twice/ar-BBlnTE1

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Natalia Molchanova: We are whole

Natalia Molchanova (Photo by Divot)

As the world mourns the presumed loss of “the greatest free diver in history,” some might be wondering what made Natalia

Molchanova engage in such risky activity.

She herself provided the answer to this question. The New York Times reports that Molchanova had explained, “Free diving is not only a sport, it’s a way to understand who we are.”

She went on to contrast the thinking-based life with the be-here-now one. Molchanova had said, “When we go down if we don’t think, we understand that we are whole. We are one with the world… We need to reset sometimes. Free diving helps do that.”

In whatever world Molchanova is currently at one with, may she find the peace that passeth thinking, the wholeness she was willing to give her all for.

Resources

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/05/sports/natalia-molchanova-champion-free-diver-is-missing-near-ibiza.html?_r=0

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Gaia's gigantic galactic goals

Gaia (Artist's Impression, uploaded by Pippo skaio)

Way out in space, at a point 1.5 million kilometers from Earth known simply as L2, the satellite Gaia is carrying out “its surveillance of the Galaxy.”

Forbes reports that Gaia’s findings are slated to increase our current knowledge thousands of times over. Stars, planets, asteroids and comets will be scrutinized by the “two telescopes, photon detectors, video processing unit, Sun shield, and other instruments” on board.

One expected result is the mapping of a billion stars, approximately one-hundredth of the total number of such luminaries within the Milky Way.

Even more ambitious are the plans to test “Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, the space-time continuum, and gravitational waves…”

It's one thing to chart heavenly bodies, yet quite another to reach for Heaven itself.

Resources

http://www.forbes.com/sites/oracle/2014/02/20/one-billion-stars-30000-light-years-and-petabytes-of-data/?sr_source=lift_amplify&nowelcome

Monday, August 3, 2015

Cecil: A lion's share of NY care

Cecil the Lion (Photo by Daughter#3)

Not very long ago, Cecil roamed the wilds of Zimbabwe, unbeknownst to most Americans.

This lion, beloved by many in his native land, was then mercilessly “killed by an American trophy hunter.”

The AFP reports that Cecil’s image is now lighting up New York City’s Empire State Building. His giant photo spans 33 floors of the landmark’s southern face.

This grand spectacle is the result of an innovative initiative to help save endangered animals. The initiative, called “Projecting Change on the Empire State Building,” was designed to get people talking about the plight of these creatures.

Louie Psihoyos, director of a 2009 film about the grisly methods used by Japanese dolphin hunters, is the force behind this “Projecting Change” initiative. He is also “founder of the Oceanic Preservation Society.”

Resources

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/cecil-the-lion-lights-up-new-yorks-empire-state-building/ar-BBlkcyz